Kuli-kuli is a West African snack primarily made from

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...

s. First made by the Nupe People of West Africa it is a popular

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

, northern Cameroon and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

. It is often eaten alone or with a mixture of

garri In West Africa, ''garri (also known as gari, galli'', or ''gali)'' is the flour of the fresh starchy cassava root. In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to the flour of guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet. F ...

also known as cassava flakes, sugar and water, popularly called "garri soakings". It is also eaten with

Hausa koko Hausa koko also known as spicy millet porridge, is a Ghanaian street food commonly eaten as a breakfast meal. It can also be taken in late afternoon as snack. It is made from millet with a few local spices added to give it a particular taste and c ...

fura Fura may refer to: * Mount Fura (Mt Darwin) site of capital of Monomotapa kingdom in Zimbabwe * Fura (food), Nigerian millet dough balls eaten with nono * Fura (rapper), Indian rapper * SEAT Fura supermini car produced by Spanish automaker SEAT, ...

, kamu; and is sometimes ground and put into

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

. It is often ground as used as an ingredient for Suya and

Kilishi Kilishi is a version of jerky that originated in Hausaland specifically Niger . It is a dried form of suya, made from cow, sheep or goat meat. Meat Firstly, remove the bone from the cow, sheep or goat meat, Each of the selected muscles is sl ...

. Kuli-kuli is a byproduct of processing raw peanuts into peanut oil.

Ghanaian Kuli-Kuli

Kuli kuli (a groundnut/peanut cookie) in

just like in many parts of West Africa is a common crispy snack. The ingredients and shapes used however is not universal throughout the country. In the northern part of the country, especially among the

Dagbon The Kingdom of Dagbon is one of the oldest and most organised traditional kingdoms in Ghana founded by the Dagomba people (Dagbamba) in the 11th century. During its rise, it comprised, at various points, the Northern, Upper West, Upper East and ...

people, Kuli kuli is made from the residue gotten from groundnuts during the extraction of groundnut oil. It is mostly found in the Zongo communities in Ghana.

Preparation

To make kuli-kuli, peanuts are roasted and then ground into a paste called "Labu". The paste is then mixed with

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

, and sometimes ground

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

, and occasionally sugar. The paste is stripped of excess oil with water and made into the desired shape (round balls, cylinders, etc.). Adding

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

to the oil increases the boiling point of the oil. This results in oils being extracted from the kuli-kuli so that more liquid oil is created than when the process started. While being heated and fried, the shaped peanut-paste begins to solidify and harden. It is then removed from the oil and allowed to cool down until ready to be eaten. It has a very long shelf life and is often given to children as a treat or sold in taxi parks by teenage girls to hungry travelers. All aspects of producing and selling the peanut oil and kuli-kuli are socially considered 'woman's work'. Quite often, women control all aspects of kuli-kuli production and sales. Women grow the crop, extract and refine the oil, cook the kuli-kuli, carry it to the market, and sell it. In many cultural groups, this is considered 'her (personal) money' generated to spend as she deems fit. In contrast, a man growing peanuts is more likely to sell his entire crop of 100 kilo bags wholesale. The wholesaler will be responsible for transportation.

Health Benefits

Kuli-Kuli contains

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

because of the peanuts from which it is made. It also contains

Magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...

Phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

and

Vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vi ...

Gallery

File:Food creation - Making of a local delicacy called Kulikuli.jpg, Making kuli-kuli in Ghana File:Kulikuli made in Bongo, Upper East Region, Ghana.png, Kulu-kuli made in Bongo File:Kuli kuli, a local snack.jpg, Kuli kuli, a local snack

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuli-Kuli Nigerian cuisine Nigerien cuisine Ghanaian cuisine Beninese cuisine Cameroonian cuisine Legume dishes National dishes

Ghanaian Kuli-Kuli

Preparation

Health Benefits

Gallery

See also

References